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Opus Dei Members Won't Protest Code

Posted on: Saturday, 20 May 2006, 09:01 CDT

By Lois K. Solomon, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

May 20--As a mother of nine, with the 10th on the way, Elizabeth Brinkman hasn't worried much about The Da Vinci Code movie.

She prays each morning when she wakes up, takes care of the kids, attends daily Mass in Delray Beach and attends meetings of Opus Dei, the Catholic group portrayed in the novel and film as a wealthy, secretive branch with a penchant for sexism and self-mortification.

No, she doesn't beat herself with a heavy knotted rope or wear a spiked thigh bracelet to recall Jesus' suffering, although the novel shows an Opus Dei member relishing that pain. Brinkman said 10 difficult pregnancies have offered enough agony.

"Life presents so many mortifications all the time for me," said Brinkman, 41. "I don't need to look for any."

In The Da Vinci Code, which opened in local theaters Friday, Opus Dei, Latin for "Work of God," is represented by a bishop and a monk on a single-minded journey to find the Holy Grail. The self-flagellating monk has no qualms about deceiving and killing people who get in his way.

The prelature, founded in 1928 by a Spanish priest who became a saint, has been working hard to dispel images left by the wildly popular 2003 novel, which has sold more than 40 million copies around the world. Members fear the film, about a church plot to maintain the secret that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, will reinforce the impression that they belong to a rigid, bizarre cult.

Despite the Catholic Church's criticism of the book, a survey released this week by The Barna Group shows 24 percent of the 45 million people who have read the book are Catholic, while 15 percent are Protestant. Only 5 percent of readers said the book's contents had altered their religious views.

While some South Florida Christians plan movie theater protests because they are offended by the film's premise, Opus Dei members say they are not confrontational types. They say they prefer quieter techniques to express their love for God.

"Protesting is not our style," said Toni Bernardino, 50, a member from Miami. "We're concerned more as Catholics than as Opus Dei members. The confusion the book creates about the Catholic Church is worse."

Opus Dei seeks to help people grow closer to God through their daily activities. Members see the workplace, the home, even a trip to the mall as an occasion for spirituality.

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Copyright (c) 2006, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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